In coming months, Congress will take up landmark legislation by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and Sen. John Warner, R-Va., meant to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. It would be nice if the veteran senators spent less time complimenting themselves for their sagacity in coming up with the plan and more time fixing its obvious flaw. We refer to its reliance on a lightly regulated cap-and-trade scheme akin to those in place ... [full story]

BAGHDAD - The war criminal known as "Chemical Ali" remains in U.S. military custody as Iraqi officials debate the legality of his execution by Iraq.Ali Hassan al-Majeed, Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Hussein Rashid were to be executed within 30 days after an Iraqi appeals court upheld their sentences in early September, CNN reported Tuesday. The three Sunnis were convicted of war crimes against the Kurds in the late 1980s during the reign of Saddam Hussein.Various ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- Internet credit card contributions may be eligible for matching funds under the presidential public funding program, the U.S. elections watchdog said.The Federal Election Commission unanimously approved an advisory opinion in response to a request by the Chris Dodd for President campaign committee, the commission said in a news release. Sen. Dodd is a Connecticut Democrat.The FEC said contributions made over the Internet that were subject to a specific verification procedure are eligible for ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- U.S. political strategists said recent legal changes will make it easier for so-called soft money to influence voting outside of campaign law limitations.Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be raised for 2008 by groups reminiscent of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004 that questioned Sen. John Kerry's war record in a way that damaged his Democratic presidential campaign, The New York Times reported Monday.The amount of soft money raised ... [full story]

Blaming a tainted nutritional supplement might be a plausible explanation for a positive urine test for a banned stimulant. Five years ago. But anti-doping experts say the already slim chances of a supplement triggering a positive for a stimulant, as San Diego Padres outfielder Mike Cameron suggested recently, have dwindled significantly since the Federal Drug Administration barred the popular stimulant ephedrine from supplements in 2005. "It's not a very high likelihood it's from a contaminated ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - The images are seared into our recent national memory. Frantic people stranded on rooftops waving signs reading "help." Thousands crammed into a domed sports arena without food, water, adequate sanitation or police protection. Rifle-toting police and National Guard troops chasing away looters and looking for reported snipers. Weeks later, wrecked neighborhoods still abandoned with no public services or government presence of any kind. That was New Orleans, 2005, in the devastating wake ... [full story]

CHICAGO - After almost being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight this summer for wearing an outfit deemed too provocative for flying, Kyla Ebbert bares all in an online nude pictorial and video feature for Playboy.com The 23-year-old beauty boarded a flight at San Diego's Lindberg Field on July 3, and a Southwest employee asked her to change her outfit -- a miniskirt, a sweater over a tank-top, and high heels -- or get off ... [full story]

PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon had 11.9 percent of its households struggling with hunger or "food insecurity" from 2004-06, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) annual report released Wednesday. "Food insecurity" is the USDA term to describe households that struggled with affording enough food. "Too many Oregon families struggle to put food on the table," said Rachel Bristol, CEO, Oregon Food Bank. "The high cost of housing, health care, childcare and fuel make it ... [full story]

BURNS, Ore. – The historic McEwen Ranch announced this week its 150,000 plus acres have been certified organic by the USDA’s National Organic Program. This is the culmination of a three-year process during which the land must be free of all chemical inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. With its organic certification, the McEwen ranch, which at one time was a part of the historic Miller-Lux cattle empire of the late 1800’s, is believed ... [full story]

PHILADELPHIA -- Two Philadelphia police officers were shot and wounded Tuesday night as they attempted to break down the door of a suspected crack house.Both officers were treated at hospitals and released within a few hours.Police said seven people in the house were arrested after a three-hour siege, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.The wounded officers were the fifth and sixth in the city to be shot in two months, including Officer Chuck Cassidy, who was mortally ... [full story]